Posted on Crash.net this morning. RIP
Craig Jones has died as a result of head injuries sustained during Sunday's World Supersport race at Brands Hatch.
The 23-year-old lost control of his Parkalgar Honda through the fast Clark Curve towards the end of lap seven of the restarted race, whilst battling for his first WSS victory in his home event.
Jones was sitting in a close second position at the time of his accident, sandwiched between Ten Kate Honda riders Jonathan Rea and Andrew Pitt. As Jones accelerated through the fast right-hand turn that leads onto the home straight, he lost the rear of his CBR600RR, sliding almost completely sideways before being pitched violently backwards onto the asphalt.
World championship leader Pitt attempted to take avoiding action, but was left with nowhere to go and appeared to clip Jones as the Englishman spiralled uncontrollably down the track. The race was immediately stopped and Jones was later diagnosed with a serious head injury.
Jones was initially treated at the scene of the accident and then transferred to the Circuit Medical Centre - where the Clinica Mobile states he was resuscitated four times - before being flown by Air Ambulance to the Royal London Hospital.
The former Foggy Petronas World Superbike rider arrived in an 'extremely critical condition' and was placed in a pharmacological coma by doctors to try and stabilise his condition.
Tragically, it has been officially announced that Jones died during the early hours of Monday morning.
Jones was one of the rising young stars of British motorcycle racing, famed for giving his all on-track - via a spectacular riding style - and amiable personality off-track.
Jones was still credited with second position behind good friend Jonathan Rea in the Brands Hatch race and sits fifth in the 2008 World Supersport standings. Jones had taken four podium finishes from the nine rounds and it was considered only a matter of time before he claimed his first world championship race victory.
After winning the 2002 British Junior Superstock Championship for Roundstone Suzuki, Jones graduated to the British Supersport Championship with Triumph Valmoto, where he took the Daytona 600 to pole position at Knockhill and a podium finish at the season-ending Donington Park round.
Remaining with the team for a second season, Jones took his first BSS victory in the Daytona's final race on his way to eighth in the standings, before switching to the Northpoint Honda for a 2005 title assault.
Jones took the proven CBR machinery to seven podium finishes and second in the championship, while making his World Supersport debut as a wild-card at the British rounds and as a stand-in rider for Ten Kate Honda at Brno.
Jones qualified on the front row at Silverstone, before pulling out of the race lead with clutch problems, and finished eighth at Brands Hatch. He took sixth position at Brno.
Propelled by that form, Jones made the leap to World Superbikes with Foggy Petronas for 2006, an ambitious move that ultimately backfired - the Englishman finishing the year in 27th position on the uncompetitive 900cc triple. Jones wrote a column for Crash.net during the 2006 season.
Jones got his racing career back on course with an impressive debut World Supersport campaign for the Reve Ekerold Honda team in 2007, when he took three podiums, one pole position and finished fifth in the overall standings.
Jones then switched to the Parkalgar Honda squad, headed by Simon Buckmaster, for the 2008 season and would have been a firm title contender had it not been for a broken hand sustained during day two at Monza and a mechanical non-score at Brno.
Very sad indeed.
